#state of the writer

[jllongwrites]

State of the Writer: NaPoWriMo 2025

I'm doing National Poetry Writing Month, and this year I'm experimenting with more rhymes vs. free verse. It feels Highly Uncomfortable. Hopefully that means it's good for me and will help me grow as a poet.

[jpitha]

Update and Welcome new Followers

Over the past couple months I was trying out doing double duty posting daily here and over on /r/HFY on Reddit. I was doing JaLF on Reddit and TDoH here as well as some of my shorts I like the most.

Mechanically, posting on Reddit blows compared to Tumblr. The UI is terribad and it has a tendency to eat my posts. It would take me almost as long formatting and setting up a JaLF post as it took to write it. Stressing about it was causing my posting here to suffer as a result.

I love my Tumblr community and want to concentrate my efforts where they are most enjoyed and loved.

Fun fact: When I posted to Reddit that I wasn't posting anymore and offered a link to those who were invested in the story to come here it was removed for "offsite advertising."

So! If you're from Reddit and are coming here, welcome! I'm sorry I don't have the spoons to post there and here. Please enjoy Tumblr, it's really nice.

[inknopewetrust]

ELECTION PSA

If you are in line to vote and your state’s polls close (ex. Illinois closes at 7PM CST), do not get out of line! They are REQUIRED to let you stay in line and vote.

Don’t let anyone convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. Your voice, especially those of you in a swing state, matters greatly for the future of our country.

[tmninjagirl]

“The forest kept shrinking, and the trees kept voting for the axe. It was made of wood, so they thought it was one of them.”

Old Turkish Proverb

[mashkara45]

International Writers' Day hits different when you're from Ukraine

Just a few stories of Ukrainian writers killed by russia in 2024/25. There are more of them. Keeping their memory alive is the least we can do

* Nedopysani is a memorial project to honor those Ukrainian people of literature who were killed by Russia. Our goal is not merely to make a list—we want to celebrate lives of the fallen ones, read their poems and novels, carry on their legacy.

We are the echoes of their voices

[x]

[leonardospoetry]

Have you become so addicted to doing what you like that now you don’t even have time to do what you love?

[nnothingmakessense]

My toxic writing trait has nothing to do with my ability to write and everything to do with my relationship with inspiration and creativity.

That bitch really appears randomly at the doorway of my mind, throws things around the room, gives me three new ideas at the most inopportune moment with no plan for executing them, then will mysteriously vanish the moment I actively choose to write or even plot, pen or laptop at the ready.

It's like my creativity has commitment issues, bc god forbid it be a straightforward process at all.

[reasonsforhope]

"The Writers Guild has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to end its strike after nearly five months. The parties finalized the framework of the deal Sunday when they were able to untangle their stalemate over AI and writing room staffing levels.

“We have reached a tentative agreement on a new 2023 MBA, which is to say an agreement in principle on all deal points, subject to drafting final contract language,” the guild told members this evening in a release, which came just after sunset and the start of the Yom Kippur holiday that many had seen deadline to wrap up deal after five days of long negotiations...

Despite today’s welcome news, it still will take a few days for the strike to be officially over as the WGA West and WGA East proceed with their ratification process. During the WGA’s last strike in 2007-08, a tentative agreement was reached on the 96th day and it wasn’t over until the 100th...

All attention will now turn to ratifying the WGA deal and getting SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP back to the bargaining table to work out a deal to end the actors’ strike, which has now been going on for 70 days.

Details of the WGA’s tentative agreement haven’t been released yet but will be revealed by the guild in advance of the membership ratification votes. Pay raises and streaming residuals have been key issues for the guild, along with AI and writers room staffing levels."

-via Deadline, September 24, 2023

[sharp-fanged13]

What a wonderful occassion to remember this happened and is canon af:

[thefamiliarstrangers100]

“The war will end. The leaders will shake hands. The old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son. That girl will wait for her beloved husband. And those children will wait for their heroic father. I don’t know who sold our homeland. But I saw who paid the price.”

— Mahmoud Darwish; Palestinian poet.

[prettygirl-gabi]

Title: Unfinished Business

Pairing: Jada Williams x Reader

Word Count: 2.3k+

Rating: Angst, Tension, Slow Burn

Fandom: Women’s College Basketball

Summary:… it means nothing… or everything… who knows

🏷️: @yailtsv

Pt2 Pt3

Arizona wasn’t on my radar. Hell, I never thought I’d leave UCLA. But things change. Promises break. People leave. And now, I’m here, standing in the middle of Desert Financial Arena, wearing blue and red instead of blue and gold, pretending that it doesn’t bother me.

But what bothers me more?

Jada Williams.

She’s here. And from the second I walked into practice on my first day, she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want me here.

“New transfer from UCLA,” Coach announced, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Make her feel welcome.”

Except Jada didn’t.

She barely looked at me, barely acknowledged me. Where I got nods and polite greetings from the rest of the team, I got nothing from her. Just an impassive stare, her jaw clenched tight like she was holding back every unspoken word we never said.

That first week, I tried.

I caught her after practice. “Jada—”

She walked past me.

I sat next to her at team breakfast. She got up without a word.

I passed to her during scrimmages. She didn’t pass back.

I wasn’t stupid. I knew what this was. A silent punishment for leaving. For what happened between us before I left.

But she didn’t get to be mad at me when she was the one who let me go first.

⸻

Weeks passed, and I stopped trying. If she wanted to act like I didn’t exist, fine. I could do the same.

At least, I thought I could.

But it was hard when every game, every practice, every team event put us in the same space, with nothing but distance between us. Harder when I caught her looking when she thought I wouldn’t notice, the same way I still caught myself looking at her.

It was even harder now, standing in the middle of a department store, trying to ignore her presence a few feet away while I shopped for some essentials.

“Excuse me, ma.”

I barely had time to react before a guy stepped into my space, all confidence and a smirk that made my skin crawl.

“What’s up?” he asked, leaning too close.

I took a step back. “Just shopping.”

He didn’t get the hint. “Well, since we’re both here, how about you give me your number? I could take you out, show you a good time.”

I sighed. “I’m good, thanks.”

“C’mon, don’t be like that. Just one date.”

“No.”

He laughed like I was joking. Like I was playing hard to get. Like he wasn’t hearing the rejection in my voice.

Then suddenly, an arm wrapped around my waist.

“She said no.”

Jada.

I stiffened, feeling her press against me, her voice calm but sharp as a blade. The guy blinked, confused.

“Who are you?”

Jada didn’t hesitate. “Her girlfriend.”

My breath hitched. “Jada—”

She turned to me, expression unreadable. “Just go with it.”

The guy looked between us, suspicious. “Oh yeah? If that’s true, prove it.”

I felt my pulse in my throat.

Jada didn’t hesitate.

Before I could say anything, she tilted my chin up, leaned in, and kissed me.

And God, I should have pulled away.

But I didn’t.

I couldn’t.

Because the second her lips met mine, everything else disappeared.

The weeks of silence, the months of distance, the hurt, the anger—it all blurred into nothing. All I felt was her. Her lips, soft and familiar. Her hand, gripping my waist. The way she kissed me like no time had passed, like we weren’t pretending, like we hadn’t left things unfinished.

By the time she pulled away, my heart was in my throat.

Jada turned back to the guy. “Believe me now?”

He held up his hands, backing away. “Yeah. Yeah, my bad.”

And just like that, he was gone.

Silence stretched between us, thick with everything we weren’t saying.

I swallowed. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Her jaw tensed. “Yeah, I did.”

“Why?”

She exhaled sharply. “Because I wasn’t about to stand there and watch some dude keep pushing up on you like you weren’t saying no.”

I searched her face. “And the kiss?”

Jada didn’t answer right away. Instead, she looked at me like she was debating something, like she was on the edge of something she wasn’t ready to say.

Then, finally—

“Because I wanted to.”

And just like that, everything I thought I knew shattered.

I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, she took a step back.

“I gotta go.”

And then, like always—

She left.

Leaving me standing there, heart racing, breath shallow, with nothing but the taste of her on my lips and a thousand unanswered questions in my head.

---

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          ��      -Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

                             -prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

[jllongwrites]

I'm happy to be able to announce that I've just released my debut poetry chapbook, FIREWORKS ARE JUST PRETTY BOMBS (& OTHER POEMS). From the volatile mix of longing and loathing explored in the title poem to the bold defiance in poems such as “Burn Down Everything You Love” and “I’ll Give You Something to Be Afraid Of,” and from the quiet, broken prayer of “Merciful” to the heartfelt ode to community found in “Little Brother,” this poetry collection explores the full gamut of human emotion and experience.

The official chapbook launch and live reading is scheduled for the March Rochester Writers Night event on Wednesday, March 6th, 2024. The reading will be held in the Rose Room at the Rochester Public Library, located at 65 S. Main Street in downtown Rochester, NH, and will begin at 6 p.m. An open mic will follow.

The chapbook is available through Lulu Books as an ebook and from Gumroad as a paperback.  

[itsrlymine]

i need y'all to watch westworld bc it's one of my favourite shows that showcase how reality is written by you even if you don't know it.

[un-pearable]

the folks “he wouldn’t fucking say that” was about missed the point that large sections of fandom intentionally ignore fundamental character traits and backstories just to make them more palatable and less challenging to write bc they’re relatively new writers. which isn’t inherently bad but is an entirely different issue than what their reactionary “okay but in what situation would he say that” posts are saying

[unicoo]

Viserys neglecting his children is OKAY, but Aegon & Alicent doing it ISNT OKAY?…

Rhaenyra sleeping with a man who isn’t her husband AND having said man’s children is OKAY, but Alicent sleeping with Criston AFTER Viserys DIES ISNT OKAY?….

Rhaenyra & Daemon hooking up at Laena’s funeral is OKAY, but Aemond claiming Vhagar at Laena’s funeral ISNT OKAY?…..

Jace possibly cheating on Baela with Sara or Cregan is OKAY, but Aegon stepping out on Helaena ISNT OKAY?……

Daemon planning & plotting against literally ANYONE is OKAY, but Alicent, Criston, Otto, & Aemond plotting & planning ISNT OKAY?…….

Rhaenyra defending her sons & demanding Aemond be sharply questioned is OKAY, but Alicent wanting Justice for her son & an eye for an eye ISNT OKAY?……..

Baela & Rhaena being passed over for their BIRTHRIGHT is OKAY, but when it’s Rhaenyra who’s cheated out of her “birthright” it ISNT OKAY?………

Rhaenyra acts entitled & spoiled it’s OKAY, but let the Green kids act entitled & spoiled it ISNT OKAY?……….

Daemon pays to take young girls maidenhoods (most of them brothel workers who were TEENAGERS) it’s OKAY, but Aegon does it and it ISNT OKAY?………..

Daemon orders the death of a child & it’s OKAY, it’s JUSTIFIED, but Aemond takes RIGHTFUL REVENGE against a boy OLD ENOUGH TO FIGHT BACK and it ISNT OKAY?…………(idgaf what you say if someone bullied you then jumped you then took your eye & got away with it YOU’D BE PISSEED TO LIE & SAY YOU WOULDNT 😐)

Rhaenyra having “bastards” is OKAY, but Aegon & Aemond having bastards ISNT OKAY?………….

Daemon can allow for women & children to be hurt in all ways imaginable that’s OKAY, but Aemond taking ONE woman as a spoiled of war ISNT OKAY?……….…. (If Alys wanted to she could’ve ended up in various different positions yk being a WITCH & all)

Rhaenyra can lose nearly all her children & get compassion that’s OKAY, but giving Aegon & Helaena compassion over their son dying when he literally DIDNT DO SHIT ISNT OKAY??…………...

Visenya dies, being sad about that is OKAY, but being sad about Jaehaera’s death ISNT OKAY?………….…

Rhaenyra being a shit to children is OKAY, but Alicent being a shit to children ISNT OKAY?……….…….

Luke & Jace bullying Aemond is OKAY because they were younger, but AEGON bullying Aemond ISNT OKAY, because…?………………………….…

Because y’all are hypocrites! The whole point of this post is to showcase just how hypocritical the toxic fans (mostly team black) are. Rhaenyra & her side do it, all is fine & it doesn’t matter. Aegon & his side do it and there’s an uproar, they’re evil & deserve horribleness. Give me a fucking break honestly 🙄

If you see this tragedy and decide to make it worse by picking sides or not giving empathy, sympathy, & understanding to both sides then you need to grow tf up, mature A LOT, then look at the media again because somewhere along the way you missed the importance of this story and OUR WORLD is shitter for that!

[snailfen]

the s1 remaster negativity is killing me 😭 now listen i am of the idea that s1 is beautiful as she is and that it shouldn't be erased (which it isnt being erased!) but its not unreasonable or unnecessary for AE to want to reboot it.

i think they're reasonably a little embarrassed by it and not because its poorly animated or they found walmart funny at 13 years old or the fact that it has angry birds and annoying orange and everything a teenager laughed at in the early 2010s. its because of the blatantly ableist tropes they (unknowingly at the time) implemented and all those really weird racist jokes they were finally able to cut out via youtube editor because they've grown and changed as people. rebooting s1 gives them the chance to revisit all that as well as other things (the TERRIBLE sound mixing, lightbulbs sudden transgenderification, the way brian talks about it being canon in this stream really makes me think they're gonna revisit that)

i do think there's a reasonable chance the crustiness of s1 will remain if its a reBOOT and not an HD remaster. while they did go back an redo all the thumbnails years ago, theres a newly animated section during karma waits (the halloween episode section) resembling the old style (all of which was done by adam himself!) and i really don't think they'll backtrack on the old style since its been implemented in various other instances. and in terms of the humor and shit i would hope they wont change much? but all in all they do keep the meta-narrative of ii in mind (brian has talked about iii also being a sort of escape for the cast) and i don't think they'll change too much going forward in that case.

overall its not invalid to feel. Weird. but i dont think assuming the worst possible scenario is for the best!! be aware that we literally haven't seen anything yet!!! yknow. stay tuned and all that shit